Saturday, November 10, 2012

Homemade Ciabatta by Arfi Binsted

Dear Peri Roti,

Ini laporan kedua saya:

Yes, It's Peter Reinhart's recipe again, from his book Artisan Breads Every Day. I made ciabatta this time because I was thinking about making bruschetta for our light lunch today.

I started the dough two days ago and had it kept in the fridge until I was ready to bake this morning. I only had one hour to bake before we went out for a Saturday sport day. So I was rushed with many other things to prepare.

I decided to make two toppings for bruschetta: Tomato and Basil; and Olive and Chili. We ended up finish the bread all up with leftover eaten by my beloved husband with marmalade for his sweetmeat.

This is my second entry for NCC Bread Week

Pain à l'Ancienne Rustic Bread (for Ciabatta)

Source: Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart

I'm not using mixer, so I am adjusting the method to suit me. I'm making ciabatta, so I'm using olive oil. If you'd like to make other than ciabatta, such as baguettes, foccacia, etc you can leave olive oil as optional.

567g unbleached bread flour
11g salt or 2 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
4g instant yeast
454g chilled water (about 13C)
14g olive oil

Combine the flour, salt, yeast, and chilled water. Stir with wooden spoon until well mixed. Let it rest for 5 minutes to hydrate the flour. Add in olive oil. Mix again and knead for 1 minute until the dough becomes smooth. If your dough is still wet and sticky, don't worry, that's how it should be. Transfer this dough into a clean and oiled bowl. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Oil your work space. Transfer the dough on it and start using the stretch and fold method for each side. Put it back into the bowl. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Repeat this step three more times.

Cover the bowl and I refrigerate the dough overnight. Remove from the fridge three hours before baking ciabatta.

Line the back of a baking tray with baking paper. Transfer the dough to the generously floured work space. You need to do it very gently as not to degas it too much.

I cut the dough into three portions and made three ciabatta. 

Gently fold the dough into thirds. I just sprinkle flour on the top and side of the bread. I did not roll it into flour because I'm afraid I would degas it if I do it. I leave my ciabatta for 2 hours before baking while I attend other house chores.

Preheat the oven to 288C (my oven has only 250C as the highest temperature) about 45 minutes before baking. I don't use baking stone, as I thought the pizza stone I have is too thin for such a job. I use lined baking trays and insert an oven pan on the bottom of the oven.

Bake ciabatta and pour in 1 cup hot water into the oven pan and lower the temperature to 232C (my oven gets only 230C). Bake for 12 minutes, rotate the trays, bake another 15-20 minutes. 

Remove the bread out of the oven and transfer to a wire rack. The crust should be hard to tap but it will be soften when it cools down. 

When we came back home, I just sliced the bread and grilled it on a grill pan to make bruschetta.

Here's what I do for the toppings.




Tomato and Basil Topping
Makes 2

3 tomatoes, blanched, skinned and diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
a bunch of basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs pure olive oil
salt and pepper
a drop of honey

Combine tomatoes, garlic and basil in a bowl. Mix honey, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour it into the bowl. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Check the taste. Leave it for an hour for the flavour to develop. Enough for 2.



Kalamata Olive and Chili Topping
Makes 2

3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tbs capers, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs pure olive oil
a bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
a drop of honey
1 1/2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Combine olives, chili, capers and parsley in a bowl. Mix honey, vinegar and olive oil, pour it into the bowl. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Check the taste and leave it for an hour to develop the flavour. Enough for 2.

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